Air Catch
by FullmetalWizard1995
Summary: A little oneshot outlining a part of Reyson's life in Phoenicis, and its influence. No pairings.


**This is a little something inspired by nothing in particular, except my curiosity about what Reyson's life was like in Phoenicis following the Serenes Massacre. I don't know how good this is, but I'll give it a shot anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. If I did, I wouldn't be here right now as I would have died of happiness. **

"Reyson, what in blazes are you doing?"

The white Serenes heron froze, clutching the orange ball he'd been about to throw to his chest. Slowly, guiltily, he rotated in midair to face a huge and imposing figure: the Hawk King Tibarn. Tibarn had his muscular arms folded across his equally muscular chest and was staring at Reyson incredulously, as if he couldn't believe the fragile little heron had actually agreed to play ball with his right and left-hand men, Janaff and Ulki.

"Get down out of the air," Tibarn commanded, "before you hurt yourself."

Obediently, Reyson touched down lightly on the grassy field beneath him, but instead of handing the ball over to Tibarn, he turned and threw it at Janaff and Ulki, who were still in the air. The toss was weak and poorly aimed, but Janaff hooked it with his foot anyway and flung it at Ulki.

"And you two!" Tibarn bellowed. "You have duties to attend to. Quit messing around before I drag you down by your wings!"

"Oh please, Tibarn," Janaff whined as he caught an over-the-shoulder pass from Ulki, "duties are boring. Plus, we wanted to entertain the prince! He's seemed so depressed ever since he came here, and a game of air-catch will cheer anyone up!"

"Don't try and sweet talk your way out of this," the Hawk King growled. "You know as well as I do that all Serenes herons are fragile at best, Reyson even more so considering what he's been through."

"That's why he needs cheering up!"

While Tibarn and Janaff continued to bicker, Reyson stood beside Tibarn, twiddling his thumbs. He had found the game of air-catch to be quite fun, even if he wasn't very good at it. Although, he supposed, if Tibarn said the game was too dangerous for him then he probably shouldn't play it. Safety should always come first, right? Even if it means hiding in one's room forever?

A small piece of Reyson protested loudly at this thought, but the heron didn't notice as he was too busy being dragged away by Tibarn, who had decided that the best way to end the argument was to just ignore Janaff.

"This isn't fair, Tibarn!" Janaff yelled at the retreating figures, waving his arms wildly. "And there's no need to make that insulting gesture so big, I can see it from here just fine!"

Ulki sighed and watched his friend yell and threaten Tibarn until the king was out of earshot.

* * *

><p>A similar pattern saw fit to repeat itself over the next few weeks in Phoenicis. Each time Reyson tried something he wanted to do-one attempt involved sneaking around at night to look at the stars because Janaff swore they were amazing-Tibarn would swoop in and convince Reyson otherwise. Each time, the small piece of Reyson would protest at the fact that the being it was part of would be so easily swayed, but Reyson never noticed.<p>

But Janaff noticed. As Tibarn hauled Reyson off again, swearing that the outdoors was dangerous at night, Janaff spotted the barely imperceptible hints of resentment in the heron's green eyes. This, somewhat unfortunately, gave the Eyes of the King an idea.

* * *

><p>Reyson didn't like sitting in his room at night. It was one of the reasons he had been so eager to get outside and look at the stars. His room would get very dark at night, and without anything visible to focus on, the heron's mind would wander. Its favourite destination as of late was Reyson's memories of the Serenes Massacre, since they were so fresh and forward. The worst feelings would surface when Reyson closed his eyes in the dark; then, he could hear the shouts and cries of his people as if he were back in the forest, and the sharp smell of smoke would fill his nose again. His eyes would burn with tears and his heart would tear in two as he relived it all, unable once again to do anything to stop it<p>

The heron snapped his emerald eyes open. _No_, he thought. _I…I can't. Not again. I need to stop feeling so…useless and…weak. I need to make sure nothing like that can ever happen again. I need to be strong…for Leanne. Yes, that's what I need to do, but…how do I do that? Am I even capable of doing that? Oh…_

Feeling desolate, Reyson decided to sing. Maybe the magic of a song would cheer him up a little. Knowing not what else to do, he gave it a try. It wasn't anything fancy, just a series of notes strung together to create a beautiful and haunting melody. Seated on his bed, Reyson started out with a low hum, but the sound quickly expanded and soon the whole room was filled by his clear voice, and the shadows began to dispel.

"That's a pretty voice you have there."

Had Reyson not been sitting, he probably would have toppled onto the ground. As it was, he jerked violently out of his trance and looked wildly around the room for the source of the compliment. He found it in the doorway.

"Sorry," Janaff grinned, "didn't mean to scare you!"

Reyson just stared at the intruder, too shocked to react. Janaff sighed and ran a hand down the side of his face; it seemed that this was going to be harder than he thought.

He decided on the direct approach: "Reyson, you shouldn't let Tibarn push you around. If you want to go look at the stars, go look at 'em! Don't let that overgrown birdbrain tell you what's what, okay?"

"Um, okay?" Reyson liked the idea, but it scared him a little. Or, rather, Tibarn scared him a little.

"Hmph," Janaff frowned. "Okay, then, let's give it a practice shot. Pretend I'm Tibarn," he puffed himself up and tried to look as big as possible, "and you tell me off." He then cleared his throat and said in his mock Tibarn voice: "Reyson! Where are you going? Outside is dangerous! Go to your room!"

Before Reyson had a chance to either laugh or respond, another visitor appeared. "Janaff, stop bothering Prince Reyson with your mediocre impressions. You have duties to attend to."

Janaff groaned loudly and rolled his eyes-an over exaggerated motion that caused Reyson to smile a little.

The Eyes of the King turned to face Ulki in the doorway. "First off," he said, ticking off his fingers, "I have no duties. Second, I'm trying to convince lamebrain here that he shouldn't be such a pushover!"

Ulki's face remained blank as ever as he said, "You have duties and you know it." Janaff pouted at this, but Ulki continued anyway. "You should also refrain from insulting our guest."

Janaff stuck his tongue out at Ulki. "Oh, what do _you_ know?" He then stalked back over to Reyson. "Okay, so Tibarn's just told you you can't go outside even though you really want to. What do you do?"

Reyson thought hard. "I…say no?"

"Well, yes," Janaff agreed, "but with more force. Try again." He started impersonating Tibarn again. "Reyson! Air-catch is dangerous! I forbid you from playing!"

Reyson took a deep breath and said as forcefully as he could, "No."

"No…what?"

"No, I'm going to play. Because…because I want to. And it's fun!" he smiled.

Janaff studied Reyson thoughtfully. "That was pretty good," he said after a while, "but now let's see how you do with the real thing. C'mon, air-catch time!"

* * *

><p>The getaway had been clear, up until Tibarn spotted them.<p>

"Janaff! Reyson! Where are you going at this hour?" the king demanded.

Reyson's demeanour instantly changed from one of glee to one of guilt. Janaff yelled loudly in frustration and hung his head. Ulki, who had followed behind, decided to explain his companions to Tibarn.

"We were heading out with the prince," he explained stoically.

"To play air-catch, no doubt," Tibarn growled. "I won't have it anymore, and not this late at night. All of you, return to where you should be before I drag you there and tie you down myself." He turned to leave, but a little voice stopped him.

"No."

Tibarn turned back slowly, dumbstruck. "Come again?"

Reyson straightened up. "I am going outside to play air-catch with Janaff and Ulki, and no one is going to convince me otherwise."

Tibarn decided to try. "Reyson, I told you, that game is dangerous, especially at night! You could get hit with the ball, or-"

Reyson turned to walk out the door. Janaff stared in awe. Ulki looked bored.

"Wait!" Tibarn yelled, desperate. "If you stay I'll…I'll…um…oh, fine," he gave up. "There's no manipulating you otherwise. Go! Have fun!"

Janaff whooped with joy and shot out the door, Reyson fighting to keep up. Ulki trailed behind. Tibarn watched the three as they zoomed off and began their game.

"Who would've guessed that beneath that pretty face, Reyson has an iron will," Tibarn mused to himself. "Well, it'll certainly come in handy if he ever becomes interested in politics."

* * *

><p>"Watch out, Reyson! I threw that one a smidge too hard!"<p>

Reyson completely ignored Janaff's warning and went for the ball anyway. Its bright orange colour made it easy to pick out in the full moonlight. He flew as fast as he could to keep up with the soaring ball, and threw his arms out to catch it. He squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for impact.

The ball landed squarely in Reyson's arms, the force of it nearly grounding him. The White Prince opened his green eyes, delighted at his spectacular catch, and saw Janaff doing a midair victory dance.

"That was awesome!" the hawk yelled.

Reyson saw Ulki across the way and decided to pass to him. He brought the ball up over his head with both hands and then chucked it as hard as he could, somersaulting to add momentum. When his eyes refocused, he saw his throw had gone right on course, and Ulki caught it without difficulty.

Reyson was filled with pride and Janaff beamed. "That was brilliant, Reyson!"

"I second that."

Reyson looked to see Tibarn flying over to them. "Can I play?"

The Serenes heron grinned. "Of course you can, but just to warn you, I'm a mean shot!"

Tibarn laughed and snatched the orange ball from Ulki. "Bring it on!"

**For a two hundred-year-old hawk, Janaff can sure be childish. **

**So, what do you think? Is it good? Bad? Should I rewrite some of it? I'm not overly thrilled with the middle part in Reyson's bedroom, but it serves its purpose. Anyway, opinions are good! Tell me yours! **


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